Overhead-performance tradeoff for relay selection in cooperative networks

In this paper, we use rate distortion theory to investigate the overhead-performance tradeoff for relay selection in cooperative communications. Existing research is usually highly dependent on the specific implementation approaches. Our analysis, instead, studies the general and fundamental question: how much extra information is required for relay selection? The theoretical analysis for the rate-distortion function and its asymptotic properties are discussed. Simulation results, which verify our analysis, are also provided.